Indice dei contenuti per December 2016 in Equus

Breaking attachments I think “Beyond the Forever Home” (Perspective, EQUUS 470), though clearly written with the author’s evident love of horses, misses a very important consideration. The author neither mentions nor seems concerned about what horses feel when sold or given to someone new after their current family has “outgrown” them. I am a true believer that, indeed, most horses become very attached to their owners; they also become very attached to their environment, pasturemates and barn. It seems that those emotional attachments ought to receive more consideration as people are considering seeking a horse a new home when they have no more use for him. Horses are not automobiles, to be sold or passed along to another family when a newer model is desired. It’s so important for all…

The only vaccine currently available to protect horses from leptospirosis recently received additional approval from the U.S. Food and Drug Administration for use in mares in all three trimesters of pregnancy. Lepto EQ Innovator, which is produced by Zoetis, was introduced last year but at that time was only approved for use in horses six months and older. More research was required to confirm the vaccine’s safety and efficacy for pregnant mares. “The additional field safety study in first and third trimester mares was conducted following the launch of Lepto EQ Innovator to provide veterinarians and horse owners confi-dence in the vaccine across all phases of pregnancy,” explained Jacquelin Boggs, DVM, MS, DACVIM, senior veterinarian, Equine Technical Services in a statement from Zoetis. Leptospirosis is caused by several…

I wear a full-body rain suit—the type made for bike riders—when I body clip my horse. It looks a bit funny, but the millions of tiny clipped hairs slide right off the material, staying out of my clothes and washing machine.—Samantha Ellison, Grand Rapids, Michigan Send your suggestions for inexpensive horse-care substitutes as well as hints for saving effort and time to Hands On, EQUUS, 656 Quince Orchard Road, #600, Gaithersburg, MD 20878; fax: 301-990-9015; email: EQLetters@aimmedia.com. Senders of published items will receive selected EQUUS merchandise.…

I have to say, I was impressed. The small boy held perfect equestrian form as he loped his sleek, little brown mare across the sunny soccer field---a good seat, his heels down, his hands quiet. But this was no show ring---in place of a saddle, he was seated on an old, torn piece of felt. I went to talk to him as he pulled up. I learned his name was Javier, he’s 12 years old, and he’s been working as a cowboy since he was 8. Every day at 5 a.m. he heads to the hills and moves 60 head of cattle to new grazing areas. He works for his uncle and earns good money, he tells me. Javier was one of 40 Hondurans who brought their horses to this…

SUPPORT FOR HEALING Product: PuriShield Wound Care Line _ Description: Formulated to support the body’s natural immune response and aid healing, the PuriShield wound care products contain no steroids, antibiotics, alcohol or other harsh chemicals that can sting or damage tissues. The line includes four products: a wound spray, for treating all manner of wounds and abrasions; a skin spray, for managing rain rot, scratches, scalding and other skin irritations; a barrier spray, to create a protective cover for open wounds, scrapes, saddle sores, burns and other injuries in hard-tobandage areas; and a hydrogel, which clings to uneven surfaces to stay in place longer than the wound spray. All products can be used on livestock,  dogs and cats as well as horses. _ Price: PuriShield Wound Spray, $29.95 for 16…

Something was wrong with Albert. The 10-year-old Hanoverian was normally amiable and outgoing. “I’d bought him when he was 4, and I’ve known him his entire life,” says his owner Jennifer Pifer. “He had always been the kind of horse who would come right up to you, with his ears up and a perky ‘happy to see you’ attitude.” The 17.2 hand gelding had also been very willing in his work as an eventing and dressage mount. Over the course of a few months in the summer of 2014, however, all that changed. Albert became increasingly sullen. He was reluctant to work, indifferent toward Pifer and had frequent skirmishes with pasturemates. “I remember looking at him and thinking, He seems depressed,’” says Pifer. Albert was also developing some unusual…

Plein air landscapes to animals to still lives invoke Catherine’s creative interests, providing a wealth of areas to explore and interpret. Her creativity enlightens and eclipses the objects she draws and paints, inducing moods and emotions that envelope the viewer. She is most passionate about portraying animals, particularly horses, creating accurate studies of their gaits and anatomy in a timeless aesthetic Over the last few decades, the work of Catherine Twomey has been recognized nationally and internationally. Her artwork has been featured at the world-renowned TED (Technology, Education and Design) conference (San Diego). She won the nationally acclaimed ArtInPlace competition in Virginia, which placed a billboard-sized mural of her work along a highway, now seen by thousands of commuters daily. In addition, Catherine was a recent finalist in the Giliola…

CAVALRY The oldest photographs of Morgan horses date to the Civil War decade of the 1860s. A number of Union cavalry officers were photographed on their handsome chargers, which, then and now, can be mistaken for no other breed. This is Maj. Gen. McCook in the field in July 1864. HARNESS An Iowa doctor makes his rounds with the help of a flaxen-maned Morgan horse, about 1890. This may be an image of the unregistered flaxen-sorrel stallion Monona. CAVALRY This photo of Comanche, who belonged to Capt. Myles Keogh (not Gen. George Custer, as commonly reported), was taken at Ft. Riley, Kansas, shortly after the Battle of the Little Bighorn in 1876. Comanche exemplifies Morgan type sought by U.S. government breeders and purchasers. HARNESS A milk delivery wagon pulled by…

body condition score (BCS)---a designation, based on a nine-point numeric scale, indicating the amount of fat on a horse’s body. A BCS is assigned after a visual and hands-on appraisal. choke---in horses, obstruction of the esophagus; in people, obstruction of the windpipe (trachea). DNA (deoxyribonucleic acid)---large organic molecule that consists of two chains of nucleotides wound around each other; the material of which genes are made. Genes are responsible for the individual inherited characteristics of living organisms. duodenum---proximal portion of the small intestine, extending from the stomach to the jejunum. endoscope---small, flexible tube equipped with light and a viewing device; used to examine or operate on body passages or internal organs. epithelium---tissue layer covering and/or lining internal and external body surfaces. equine metabolic syndrome (EMS)---endocrine disorder characterized by increased fat…

Bedding made of shavings from Scots pine trees—a species native to Northern Europe but also found in the United States— is much less likely to harbor bacteria than are other common bedding types, according to a new study from England. Researchers at Nottingham Trent University introduced five bacterial strains, including Streptococcus equi—which causes strangles—to five different types of bedding: Scots pine shavings (Pinus sylvestris), Corsican pine shavings (Pinus nigra), Sitka spruce shavings (Picea sitchensis), hemp (Cannabis sativa) and chopped wheat straw. They then determined the viable colony count of each organism on each type of bedding, an indication of bacteria’s ability to survive and multiply in the environment. The data showed significantly less growth for all of the organisms in the Scots pine bedding. The researchers attribute this to…

BEHAVIOR A taste for plastic? Q:My 10-year-old Appaloosa mare loves anything plastic. She gnaws on her feed bucket unless I stand right over her. If I move away she bites the edges of her feed bin. She tries to suck down the worming tube and will gobble up anything plastic that she can find in the pasture. A few years ago she reached into our cart storage area and took a big bite out of the seat. The utility companies are constantly putting those little plastic flags along the right of way and she will eat every one she can find. I have tried painting her feed bucket sides with a mixture of jalapeno and habanero peppers but she just licks it off. Our three other horses don’t do this.…